This invention relates to a textile fiber baling system and more particularly to a system which uses a plurality of portable bins having an open top into which textile fiber is introduced and a movable bottom by which such fiber is removed for baling with the portable bin. More particularly the present invention relates to apparatus for transporting such a plurality of portable bins between a filling station where fiber is introduced into the bin and a compression station where the fiber is compressed into bales.
Until recently, balers used for baling fibers in man-made fiber plants have been dedicated to a single process line of fiber production. In a typical man-made fiber plant, several of these process lines are placed side by side. Thus, in the typical existing baling system, a number of balers would be placed side by side in a row. In such systems, the bale is wrapped and strapped in the baling process by manual and semiautomatic means. Recently, however, automatic wrapping and tying systems have been introduced. These automatic wrapping and tying systems are complex and add considerable cost to the baling systems. Furthermore, higher density fiber compaction is being demanded to reduce the cost of storing and transporting the finished bales and to reduce the expansion of the fibers when the ties are removed. The higher densities require considerably larger hydraulic compression systems which also add to the cost of final compaction in the baling systems.
Therefore, there is a demand for baling systems that can receive fiber from a plurality of process lines, each producing fibers with different characteristics, and transport these different fibers to a central final compaction station where the fibers are made into bales and automatically wrapped and tied. The fibers from each of the process lines must be segregated. The baling system must prevent contamination of fibers from one process line with fibers from another process line.
Similar problems associated with conventional waste fiber pneumatic systems coupled with horizontal balers were noted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,669 entitled SYSTEM FOR BALING TEXTILE WASTE FROM A PLURALITY OF SOURCES owned by the common assignee with the instant application. U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,669 discloses a system which used a baling station and at least one fiber filling station wherein a portable bin having an open top was filed with the waste fibers. Each baling station receives portable bins from a plurality of filling stations with each filling station receiving its waste fibers from a designated source. The portable bins are movable along a single track connecting the baling station with its filling stations. Therefore a single carriage is available for moving the portable bin between the stations. While the waste fiber baling system of the aforementioned U.S. patent represents a vast improvement over the prior art in this field in terms of personnel safety and economy, it leaves something to be desired in terms of its efficiency and time management properties.